Whatever Happened To Eminem?
Remember when Marshall Mathers was inescapable? From his feud with Christina Aguilera to his turbulent relationship with ex-wife Kim Mathers, Eminem was everywhere for years, but then he seemed to quiet down. With the exception of an appearance onstage with Drake in August 2016, Slim Shady was seldom seen. Well, guess who's back?
Eminem absolutely unleashed on the President of the United States at the BET Hip Hop Awards on Oct. 10, 2017. CNN called his 4.5-minute freestyle rap "perhaps the fiercest and the most exhaustive attack against Donald Trump in hip-hop." The diatribe instantly thrust the Detroit native back into the spotlight.
Since then, he's continued to pop in and out of the public eye, while maintaining a steady pace in the recording studio. In December 2017, he unveiled a new studio album, "Revival," followed in 2018 by "Kamikaze," and then 2020's "Music to be Murdered By." To find out more, read on to find out whatever happened to Eminem.
He's not big on fan interactions
Eminem has never been a fan of being in the public eye, so he tries to avoid it as much as he can, especially when he's just trying to go about his life in a semi-normal way.
He says as much in his own lyrics, like in "So Far...," when he spits, "This always happens / Thirty minutes from home gotta lay a log cabin, only option I have's McDonalds' bathroom / In a public stall droppin' a football so every time someone walks in the John I get Maddened / 'Shady what up,' what? come on man I'm crappin' / And you're askin' for my goddamn autograph on a napkin."
That doesn't mean Em doesn't appreciate his fans. Back in 2015, The Daily Echo reported that Eminem reached out to a 10-year-old fan with prosthetic legs and sent him gifts after photos of the child went viral, and according to TMZ, Eminem granted a cancer-stricken fan's last wish with a top-secret visit before the fan's death. It seems the rapper just wants his interactions with fans to be on his own terms, probably because of "Stan" types.
He's still dealing with family drama
Just about everyone on the planet is familiar with Eminem's relationship with his ex-wife, Kim Mathers, which was tumultuous at best. Kim's mom told Radar Online in November 2013, "They get along better than ever. He's building her a new house...[Kim] has been clean all these years, she just takes care of her family...I think they might [get back together.]"
Unfortunately, tough times struck again in January 2015 when Kim's twin sister, Dawn Marie Scott, died of a drug overdose. That October, Kim was busted for DUI after crashing her car, later revealing that it was a suicide attempt. She told Mojo in the Morning, "I sat at the end of a road where I knew that no one else but myself would get hurt. Yes, I drank, I took pills, and I hit the gas and aimed for a pole...I apologized immensely. I did not expect to even make it through that. I told [first responders] that I tried to do this on purpose, and I'm so sorry."
Despite their struggles, Kim says Eminem has been a model dad and a great co-parent. "He's been real supportive," she told the Daily Mail. "We're really close friends. We're just trying to raise our kids together and make it as normal for them as possible."
He's protective of his daughter
Eminem may be keeping a low profile for the sake of his daughter, Hailie Jade Mathers, who seems to be deliberately leading a relatively showbiz-free life and only dabbling in social media.
The less publicity Eminem gets, the less drama Hailie has to deal with too, and the rapper has been sensitive to that in the past. When Hailie won the title of Homecoming Queen during her senior year, her mother was at her side watching on the field while her megastar father reportedly watched from inside the school, so as not to take away from Hailie's moment.
In 2016, The Daily Star reported that Hailie was studying psychology at Michigan State University. During a 2020 appearance on the "Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson" podcast, the rapper revealed that she'd graduated — and with an enviable 3.9 GPA. no less. "She's made me proud for sure," Eminem said, as reported by People.
Mariah Carey humiliated him
High-profile hookups in his past may have taught Eminem to keep his private life private. Actress Brittany Murphy told TRL he broke her heart "into about a zillion pieces" after they dated while filming "8 Mile" (2002), but it was his rumored relationship with Mariah Carey that really generated negative attention for both parties.
According to Complex, Carey downplayed any contact she ever had with Eminem, while the rapper insisted they had a relationship for about six months. He was reportedly furious that Carey wouldn't confirm their romance. That resulted in a lot of hateful lyrics. Eminem called the "Infinity" singer nearly every derogatory name in the book and detailed intimate encounters that she denied. He even released voicemails allegedly from Carey, which her camp claims were the work of an imposter, and he continued his feud with the songstress and her then-beau Nick Cannon in the song "Bagpipes From Baghdad." She shaded him in her "Obsessed" song and video, and he didn't take too kindly to it, releasing the brutal "Warning" track, which essentially proved Carey's point.
His lack of filter attracts trouble
Back in the day, Eminem's trolling lyrics that slut-shamed Christina Aguilera and described murdering his ex-wife were edgy, groundbreaking, and, while somewhat unsettling, also an extraordinary display of his creativity and skill as a writer. Lately? His lyrical threats to rape Iggy Azalea and punch Lana Del Rey (which he connected to the real-life abuse Janay Rice suffered at the hands of Ray Rice) have fallen flat, barely making a blip on anyone's radar beyond just annoying Azalea and earning a diss from Azealia Banks in Del Rey's defense.
Eminem's use of homophobic slurs has also been eyed more critically in recent years, specifically in 2013's "Rap God." The emcee said he finds political correctness frustrating, telling Rolling Stone, "It goes back to that battle...of wanting to feel free to say what I want to say, and then [worrying about] what may or may not affect people. And, not saying it's wrong or it's right, but at this point in my career—man, I say so much s**t that's tongue-in-cheek. I poke fun at other people, myself. But the real me sitting here right now talking to you has no issues with gay, straight, transgender, at all. I'm glad we live in a time where it's really starting to feel like people can live their lives and express themselves. And I don't know how else to say this, I still look at myself the same way that I did when I was battling and broke."
His TV appearances are often awkward
Live TV makes Eminem nervous. Take his bizarre September 2013 ESPN appearance, in which a spaced out Em became an instant meme. In the segment, he admits he is "uncomfortable," but he later told Rolling Stone it was a deliberate, trolling move. "I knew we were about to show the "Berzerk" video, so I was doing what I call the Berzerk face," he said. "The whole song to me feels like vintage Beastie Boys. And you know the 'Pass the Mic' video where Ad-Rock is making that face, kind of not looking the camera? I was doing my own version."
In November 2013, Eminem delivered an awkward performance on live TV again, this time on "Saturday Night Live." He was accused of lip-syncing and faced heavy criticism from fans and the press. His rep told E! News, "[Eminem] was not lip-syncing...[he] doubles his vocals live. Rhymes over a vocal track. He only does it sporadically through the songs. They're accent tracks."
He's trying to stay healthy
Eminem may prefer to fly under the radar because, at the height of his popularity, he struggled with addiction and weight gain. Keeping to himself allows him to focus on his wellness, as he explained to Men's Journal. "In 2009, I overdosed on pills, and I went into the hospital. I was close to 230 pounds. I'm not sure how I got so big, but I have ideas," he said. "The coating on the Vicodin and the Valium I'd been taking for years leaves a hole in your stomach, so to avoid a stomachache, I was constantly eating—and eating badly."
"When I got out of rehab, I needed to lose weight, but I also needed to figure out a way to function sober," he continued. "I became a f—ing hamster. Seventeen miles a day on a treadmill...I guess I'm pretty compulsive working out. I feel like if I step away from it for too long, if I have a crazy week and take a five-day break, it'll be like starting over," he admitted. "I'm afraid that if it goes beyond that, I might lose the motivation. Once you're at a place where you've made progress and you've got some time invested in it, you don't wanna quit and give up what you started."
He took on Trump
At the BET Hip Hop Awards on Oct. 10, 2017, Eminem drew a line in the sand, challenging his fans to choose a side — him or Trump. "You're either for or against," he spit, "and if you can't decide who you like more and you're split on who you should stand beside, I'll do it for it for you with this. F**k you."
In the freestyle release called "The Storm," Em accused the then-president of distracting, misguiding, and corrupting the nation. "The rapper decried Trump's comments following the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, questioned the President's own patriotism following his attacks on athletes and Sen. John McCain, and in closing, issued a passionate tribute to Colin Kaepernick," reported CNN.
When he released his album "Kamikaze" later that year, it contained a track called "The Ringer," in which he seemingly admitted to regretting his harsh anti-Trump stance in "The Storm." As The Fader pointed out, the song contained the lyrics, "If I could go back, I'd at least reword it / And say I empathize with the people this evil serpent sold the dream to that he's deserted." He also rapped about "watching my fan base shrink by thirds," and revealed that his scathing verbal attack on Trump — referred to as "Agent Orange" in the track — put him on the radar of the Secret Service. "'Cause Agent Orange just sent the Secret Service / To meet in person to see if I really think of hurtin' him.
He turned down a bunch of movie roles
Eminem burned up the silver screen in his 2002 movie debut, playing rapper B-Rabbit in the quasi-autobiographical "8 Mile." The movie was a big hit, and he earned decent reviews for his acting. And while he's made a few more brief film and TV appearances over the years — playing himself in "Funny People," "The Interview," and an episode of HBO series "Entourage" — why has he not starred in another movie since then?
While Eminem hasn't really offered a definitive answer to that question, his dearth of further acting roles certainly hasn't been for lack of opportunity. In fact, MovieWeb served up a comprehensive list of roles he was reportedly offered, but turned down. These include boxer Mickey Ward in "The Fighter," which went to Mark Wahlberg; Paul Walker's role in "The Fast and the Furious;" Matt Damon's character in "Elysium;" the lead role in "Jumper," which ultimately was played by Hayden Christensen; a criminal in "Training Day;" the title role in "Mad Max: Fury Road," played in the film by Tom Hardy; and the boxer played by Jake Gyllenhaal in "Southpaw," which had actually been written and developed specifically for Eminem.
Interestingly, it wasn't until 2021 that Eminem played a character who wasn't him, when he was cast as real-life FBI informant White Boy Rick (real name: Richard Wershe Jr.) in the TV series "BMF," produced by longtime pal Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson.
He opened his own restaurant
In late 2021, Eminem made something of a career detour when he shifted from rap into the hospitality industry by opening his own restaurant in his hometown of Detroit. He called the eatery Mom's Spaghetti, lifting the name from an iconic line in his rap classic "Lose Yourself." As the New York Times reported, Slim Shady himself was on hand for the grand opening, personally serving fans such dishes as spaghetti, spaghetti and meatballs, and the "'sghetti sandwich," described as a small pile of spaghetti stuffed within two slices of white bread.
The concept actually started in 2017 as a recurring pop-up hosted at various Eminem performances, and gained steam during the COVID-19 pandemic when Mom's Spaghetti was delivered free of charge to Detroit's frontline healthcare workers.
"The previous pop-ups were really a test for us to determine whether there was enthusiasm for a regularly-occurring Mom's Spaghetti spot that would be open all year long," said Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg, in a press release for the restaurant. "We are really pleased to announce the arrival of the walk-up restaurant and adjacent upstairs store, called The Trailer, where fans can experience a uniquely-curated environment and obtain merch and other items from Eminem and his new pasta operation." In advance of the opening, Eminem hyped the place in a video that he posted on social media. "Moms spaghetti it's alllllll ready Detroit!" he tweeted in the caption.
Emimen performed at the Super Bowl halftime show with some other rap royalty
Eminem performed for what was arguably his biggest audience ever when he took to the stage of L.A.'s SoFi Stadium to perform in the halftime show at the 2022 Super Bowl. He wasn't alone, performing alongside Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar, joined by special guests including 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak.
In an interview with Sirius XM's Sway Calloway ahead of the big game, he admitted he was feeling the pressure. "I'm gonna tell you, it's f***ing nerve-racking," he said, as reported by Billboard. "To me, there's nothing more final than live TV. You know what I'm saying? So if you f*** up, your f*** up is there forever."
As it turned out, the 2022 edition of the Super Bowl wound up becoming the most-watched in NFL history, with 115 million viewers tuning in. During the halftime show, Eminem used his platform to display a bit of onstage rebellion when, at the end of "Lose Yourself," he dropped down to one knee, echoing quarterback Colin Kaepernick's take-a-knee protests. However, rumors that Slim Shady blindsided the NFL with the move proved to be scurrilous when a rep for the league confirmed that NFL officials were fully aware that he'd be taking a knee, as he'd done the same thing during rehearsals.
He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Following his triumph at the Super Bowl, later that same year Eminem was announced as one of the 2022 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, part of a group that also included Duran Duran, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie and more.
In his speech, he rightfully noted that he was one of just a few rappers to have been so honored. "So I'm probably not supposed to actually be here tonight because of a couple of reasons. One, I know that I'm a rapper, and this is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and there's only a few of us right now who have been inducted in already. But there's only a few of us," he said, as reported by Rolling Stone, referencing the short list of rappers who'd been inducted before him, including the likes of Run-DMC, Jay-Z and LL Cool J.
He concluded by listing all the rappers who'd influenced him when he was coming up, an almost ridiculously lengthy roster that he presented alphabetically, ranging from 2 Live Crew to YZ. "Those were my rock stars man, and I just want to say, like, those are just a few of the names that I hope will be considered in the future for induction," he added. "Because without them, a lot of us wouldn't be here. I know I wouldn't."
Emimen got into the spaghetti sauce business
The success of his Mom's Spaghetti restaurant paved the way for another food-related business venture when, in 2023, Eminem launched his own line of Mom's Spaghetti pasta sauce. Eminem announced the arrival of the jarred sauce in a video he shared on Instagram.
According to the product's website, the sauce — which retailed for $13 per jar, or two for $25 — was not your garden variety tomato sauce. "The thing about Mom's Spaghetti is that it was born with a clear mission: taste like a leftover sauce the first time around," the site proclaimed. "This isn't a sauce that tastes like what your neighbor's Italian grandma would spend all day simmering. No. This is a clean take on classic jar sauce ... not saddled with nonsense." Preparation is also meant to be easy, requiring minimal culinary skills. "Just crack open the jar, heat a batch up and add your favorite s'ghetti or noodles: you're ready to serve up a dish that won't let you down," the site advised.
The sauce proved to be an instant hit; within hours of becoming available online, Mom's Spaghetti sauce had completely sold out. "The response has been so bananas we are going to have to figure out a way to make more sauce because it's a damn good sauce," Curt Catallo — a partner in both the Mom's Spaghetti restaurant and the tomato sauce business — told the Detroit Free Press.
Eminem kept setting records
As the years passed, Eminem's popularity has only gained steam. In September 2023, he made music history by becoming the 10th biggest-selling music artist in history, with total sales of 207,262,000 leading him to knock Led Zeppelin out of the No. 10 spot, bumping the '70s rock gods down to 11th place. He also holds the distinction of being the only rapper in that prestigious list, which includes the likes of The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and The Rolling Stones.
Then, in October of that same year, his 2013 single "Rap God" surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify — with the Detroit News pointing out that was his eighth single to join the billion-plus streams club. That same month, Eminem set another Spotify record when he racked up more than 38 billion total streams, landing in eighth place overall for the most-streamed artist on the platform — although he has a way to go to catch up with the guy in the top spot: Drake holds the No. 1 position, with just under 69 billion total streams.
As if that wasn't enough, earlier that same year Eminem set a Guinness World Record as the planet's fastest rapper; in the third verse of his single "Godzilla," earned for a section of the song in which he raps 225 words in just 30 seconds, for an average of 7.5 words each second.
He joined Ed Sheeran onstage during his Detroit concert
Ed Sheeran has long declared himself to be a fan of Eminem, something he demonstrated when he performed with him at his 2022 induction in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. When Sheeran's tour rolled through Detroit the following year, Eminem decided to return the favor when he made a surprise appearance onstage.
As the Detroit News reported, Sheeran was partway through a cover of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" when the man himself appeared to pick up the verse, resulting in rapturous applause from the stunned audience.
In a subsequent interview with Canadian music interviewer Narduar the Human Serviette, Sheeran admitted it had been no mean feat convincing Eminem to join him onstage. "It was pretty difficult," Sheeran said, revealing that Em owed him one for flying in specially to perform at his Hall of Fame induction. "So I got on a plane that night, flew, played, got on a plane that night and then flew back," Sheeran recalled. "He was like, 'Anything you ever need,' and I just said, then and there, 'I'm coming to Detroit,' so [let's do that]." Of course, Sheeran graciously offered him an escape hatch just in case he changed his mind. "I gave him the out," he said. "Whenever I perform with people, I always say, 'You can cancel last minute if you want,' so there's never any pressure."
He became a hype man at a boxing match
Weeks after his surprise appearance at Ed Sheeran's Detroit show, Eminem had another surprise to unveil when he made an unscheduled visit to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for a boxing title fight. Ahead of the match between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr., Eminem showed up as Crawford's hype man, accompanying the athlete as he walked to the ring. As Rolling Stone reported, as he escorted Crawford, he held a microphone and addressed the audience. "Las Vegas, make some noise for the next undisputed welterweight champion of the world, Terence 'Bud' f***ing Crawford," he roared, while "Lose Yourself" blared from the arena's speakers.
Perhaps because of Eminem's support (but more likely because of his skills as a boxer), Crawford dominated the bout, knocking down Spence in the second round, and sending him to the mat two more times during the seventh. The referee finally stepped in during the ninth round to stop the fight, with Crawford becoming the undisputed welterweight champion of the world.
Crawford later revealed how he wound up with Eminem in his corner. "I threw a rock in a haystack and he replied," Crawford told ePro Team. "I told him to pull up and he was like, 'I'm here, you're one of my favorite fighters.' That shows a lot of support for me and that shows the level I've met in the boxing world."
He sued a pair of Real Housewives
In 2022, Robyn Dixon and Gizelle Bryant of "The Real Housewives of Potomac" launched their own podcast, which they titled "Reasonably Shady." When they attempted to trademark the name in order to sell their own branded merch, the real Slim Shady decided to get his lawyers involved.
As the Los Angeles Times reported, Eminem sued to block the Housewives' trademark application, with his legal team arguing that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office should reject the application. "The reputation and goodwill associated with the 'Shady' trademark is unique to Eminem and his brand," the legal filing read, according to RadarOnline. "We believe that the reality stars' use of the name could dilute and tarnish his trademark." Eminem's attorneys rightfully pointed out he had already trademarked Slim Shady, Shady, and Shady Limited, and that the Shady name in general had come to be "identified by the general public solely with [Eminem] and his goods and services."
Lawyers for Dixon and Bryant responded by insisting their trademark would not confuse consumers, and argued that Eminem's Shady suit should be tossed. "We have put a lot of effort into developing our brand and ensuring that it reflects our personal vision," Dixon said, as reported by OK! "We are not infringing on anyone's rights, and we believe that we have a strong case." As of late 2023, the case remained unresolved.
He slammed a Republican presidential candidate for rapping his songs
"Real Housewives" alums aren't the only ones to feel the wrath of Eminem's lawyers. You can add Republican presidential wannabe Vivek Ramaswamy to the list, who raised Eminem's ire by rapping along with his signature hit, "Lose Yourself" while campaigning. After video footage of Ramaswamy performing the track at the Iowa State Fair went viral, he received a cease-and-desist letter demanding that he cut it out.
The letter — sent to Ramaswamy on behalf of both Eminem and his record label, BMI — was unequivocal. "BMI will consider any performance of the Eminem Works by the Vivek 2024 campaign from this date forward to be a material breach of the Agreement for which BMI reserves all rights and remedies with respect thereto," the letter stated, according to Variety.
To his credit, Ramaswamy did not try to fight it. In a statement to media, Ramaswamy's campaign spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin referenced one of Eminem's lyrics. "Vivek just got on the stage and cut loose," she said, as reported by BBC. "To the American people's chagrin, we will have to leave the rapping to the real slim shady."
He headed to Fortnite
In November 2023, Eminem had some big news for video game fans when he shared a post on Instagram indicating an upcoming partnership with online game "Fortnite." As more information trickled out, it was revealed that Eminem would be performing during the game's Big Bang event, and that gamers could purchase skins to play as three different incarnations of Eminem. As The Verge pointed out, Eminem was only the fourth artist to participate in a Fortnite musical event, following Ariana Grande, Travis Scott and Marshmello.
Because of Eminem's involvement, the event created so much demand that servers crashed, forcing the game's manufacturer, Epic Games, to add additional showtimes. This led to problems for fans who had logged in to see his avatar perform, only to face long delays. "I bought the Eminem skin for no reason.... 10 hour wait time and missed the first live event now [can't] even log into Fortnite for the one at 3... This is insane," tweeted one frustrated gamer.
Meanwhile, Yahoo! Entertainment reported that some fans were disappointed by the brevity of Eminem's performance, which lasted all of four minutes and featured just two songs, "Godzilla," and "Lose Yourself."